LT3 - Behaviourism - OC

LT3 - Behaviourism - OC

1. Reinforcement

   • Positive Reinforcement
     • Desired Behaviour
       • Add something pleasant
         • Desired Behaviour repeated
   • Negative Reinforcement
     • Desired Behaviour
       • Remove something unpleasant
         • Desired behaviour repeated
   • Schedules of Reinforcement
     • FIXED INTERVAL
       • VARIABLE INTERVAL
         • FIXED RATIO
           • VARIABLE RATIO
             • CONTINUOS REINFORCEMENT
               • Each desired behaviour receives the consequence
             • Different number of desired responses
           • Certain number of desired responses
         • Varied time periods after desired behaviour
       • Fixed time period after desired behaviour

2. Punishment

   • Positive Punishment
     • Undesired Behaviour
       • Add something unpleasant
         • Undesired behaviour less likely repeated
   • Negative Punishment
     • Undesired Behaviour
       • Remove something pleasant
         • Undesired Behaviour less likely repeated

3. Skinner

   • Rats into chambers
   • Rats quickly learned to press lever
   • Reinforced Behaviour = Repeated
   • Continuous electric shock until lever was pressed
   • Shock when lever pressed

4. Strengths

   • Scientific Status
     • E1: Again, Concepts of Natural Science
       • E2: E.G. Skinner Box, controlled varying conditions that animal experienced
         • L: Emphasises Objectivity/Replication, key for reliability, establishing cause and effect
   • P: Positive Applications
     • E1: Token Economies in Prison
       • E2: Increase desired behavior
         • L: Treat Maladaptive

5. Weaknesses

   • P: Environmental Determinism
     • E1: Machine-like responders to environment
       • E2: SLT/Cognitive emphasises the importance of mental processes in dictating what decisions we make giving humans an element of free will.
         • L: Skinner fails to recognise the complexity behind human behaviour, depicting humans as passive beings
   • P: Low generalisability
     • E1: Since experiments were carried out on animals and not humans, the generalisation of anima behaviour to humans is LIMITED
       • E2: Animals do not show the same learning experiences with logic or emotion as humans do
         • L: Therefore there are difficulties extrapolating animal research to humans
           • CP: HOWEVER, there may be ethical issues with using and shocking humans violating our own autonomy, causing physical or psychological distress